Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stake Decreased by Lafayette Investments Inc.

Lafayette Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,650 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Waterway Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 16.7% during the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 367,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,370,000 after purchasing an additional 52,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE CAT traded up $0.83 on Friday, hitting $357.46. 761,042 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,411,513. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $204.04 and a 52-week high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $178.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $345.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $297.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.86 EPS. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.4 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $3,000,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 67,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,197,792.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total value of $3,000,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 67,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,197,792.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on CAT. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.56.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.